Unjust Law In Dr. King's Letter From Birmingham

589 Words2 Pages

In Dr. King's Letter From Birmingham Jail he writes about something he states as just and unjust laws. Taking a closer look at the diction and syntax of the letter, Dr. King makes a distinction that is similar to the philosophy of the Romans during their golden age. Ius Gentium; or ‘law’ that is universally practiced and Ius Naturalis means ‘natural law’ or ‘moral law’. He further explains the difference between a just and unjust law stating “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” Proving morally similar to the Romans belief a law that was universally practiced and at the same time was morally right. But reading further Dr. King has a different outlook on the way he is viewing …show more content…

Aquinas’s indication that “An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.” as any law that is not in harmony with the moral law or the `Law of God`.Martin Luther King saw that segregation was not only rooted in unjust laws, but from groups who placed the laws on minorities expecting them to follow. However, these majority groups fail to follow the law themselves, therefore making it unjust. King felt that we should never obey an unjust law. He felt it necessary for us to obey unjust laws in non violent ways in order to gain civil rights, and that the supreme courts were not the way to solve segregation. He made this clear by coming to Birmingham in the first place. King thought it necessary to show direct action. He himself claimed, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.” In this quote King makes it clear that he is upset with the way Birmingham has handled the segregation issues, and that nonviolent direct action is the only resort. Sit ins, marches, etc. were now the only tools they could use to lead to negotiation. King chose this path because there were no other

Open Document